Mapping B2B Search Strategy to Sales Cycle can Deliver Big

9/1/2014

A good search campaign not only gets your products/services in front of your customers, but it also delivers exactly the right information to them at exactly the right time. Econsultancy suggests that over 70% of B2B buyers use a search engine at the start of their buying process and 75% of B2B prospects click on organic results. This means that there are huge opportunities for businesses that can take advantage of search. When developing a search campaign, considering your unique sales process and the content that you already have is paramount in achieving SEO success.

When considering your sales process, strive to identify search terms that change depending on where a user may be in the buying process. For example, a search for “industrial chemical manufacturers” indicates that the person who is performing the search is at the first step in the sales process, looking for possible vendors. However, when the sale evolves, they may begin to search differently. Searches further along the sales process may include things like “ABC Chemical Company reviews”, “ABC Chemical vs. XYZ Chemical”, “ABC Chemical Product Reliability” or “ABC Chemical Sustainability”. These are queries that indicate someone is interested in a particular supplier and is starting to narrow down their list of options. Finally, searches like “Where to buy ABC Chemical products” or “How to order ABC Chemical products” show that someone is actually ready to make a purchase.

While it’s important to consider all these types of searches when putting together a keyword list, it’s equally important to be sure that you have the right content to help people find what they’re looking for at each of these stages. Ideally, your content will help a potential customer answer their questions as they move closer to a purchase and knock down any barriers that may prevent them from moving forward. So when someone searches for “ABC Chemical Sustainability”, it’s not only important that your website appears near the top, but that the content on your website addresses their questions about sustainability. Otherwise, they could give up without answering the question or worse, find that information elsewhere on another website.

Regular analysis of user searches can also be a great way to stay informed about trends in what information people are looking for, which can help you decide what new content to create. For example, if you notice people are beginning to search for, “Chemical Companies with the best environmental track record” it could be an indication that an increasing number of people think that environmental track record is important for chemical companies. In that instance, perhaps it would be worth adding a page or two about environment to the website and maybe even develop a PDF brochure and a video to help drive the point home.

Ultimately, just because your website is ranking at the top of the search engine results pages doesn’t necessarily mean you’re taking full advantage of the opportunity that is in front of you. It’s extremely important that your page delivers the information that people are seeking to be sure you don’t lose them in the digital sales funnel.